On May 16th, Thai authorities announced that Koh Tachai, a picturesque tourist island in the Andaman Sea, will be closing due to environmental concerns. Home to a variety of marine flora and fauna, the island’s ecosystem has been decimated by tourists in the 6 years the island has been open for tourism. Careless littering and high levels of pollution have created a hostile environment for many of the species native to the island, such as the freshwater golden snail and the hermit crab.

Officials say that the island will be closed for an indefinite amount of time, and many new restrictions on tourism will need to be implemented should the island reopen. Overuse of the island’s resources and available area by tourists seems to be the main cause of harm, with up to 30 million tourists visiting the island each year. To put that in perspective, Disney’s Epcot receives a little over a third of that amount, at 11 million people per year.

These measures exclude a few diving cites on the island, as diving activities cause minimal environmental impact and aim to educate tourists about the importance of nature and biodiversity.

“It seems like littering and polution keep getting worse and worse. I’m happy that in this case, the safety of the plants and animals was put first.” said WHHS junior Ashley Ellias. Despite the huge economic losses that will likely be incurred because of the closing, this should give the native species on the island a chance to recover. Hopefully, Thai authorities and tourists will learn from this experience and going forward, will use the island’s beautiful resources with more care.